Friday 30 September 2011

Added Value: Things found in books part twelve Felix Lorioux


Tri-fold brochure with illustrations by Felix Lorioux. French text. Le Renard et La Cigogne or The Fox and the Stork by Jean de La Fontaine.

Father Fox, who was known to be mean, invited Dame Stork in to dinner. There was nothing but soup that could scarcely be seen: Soup never was served any thinner. And the worst of it was, as I'm bound to relate, Father Fox dished it up on a flat china plate. Dame Stork, as you know, has a very long beak: Not a crumb or drop could she gather had she pecked at the plate every day in the week. But as for the Fox--sly old Father: With his tongue lapping soup at a scandalous rate, he licked up the last bit and polished the plate.


Pretty soon Mistress Stork spread a feast of her own; Father Fox was invited to share it. He came, and he saw, and he gave a great groan: The stork had known how to prepare it. She had meant to get even, and now was her turn: Father Fox was invited to eat from an urn. The urn's mouth was small, and it had a long neck. The food in it smelled most delightful.Dame Stork, with her beak in, proceeded to peck; But the Fox found that fasting is frightful. Home he sneaked. On his way there he felt his ears burn when he thought of the Stork and her tall, tricky urn.






Found in The Fables of Aesop illustrated by Edward Detmold. Publishers review copy. Facsimile edition published in 1981.



Have you ever found a forgotten bookmark?



Update July 2016: March House books closed on my retirement in 2015, but I am still happily blogging here at March of Time Books. Your visits are always appreciated.

Wednesday 28 September 2011

The troublesome three

Have you met the Troublesome Three? Here they are, Pete, Anne and Sam. They are called the Troublesome Three because they are always getting into mischief and doing naughty things. But one day they found themselves involved in a real adventure, and without their help the crooks would never have been caught. It's all very thrilling!

The troublesome three Pg. 1
By Enid Blyton
The troublesome three is now sold, thank you for your interest.

Monday 26 September 2011

Book of the week - Alice’s adventures in Wonderland illustrated by David Hall

The outstanding illustrations in this edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland are the work of the Hollywood artist and designer David Hall. They were produced at the Walt Disney Studio during the preliminary planning stage of an animated film of Alice in Wonderland.













The film, however, was shelved and Hall’s illustrations were filed away in the Studio archives. When Disney’s film of Alice finally went into production in 1948, Hall’s stunning pictures were not used.


Over 100 of his remarkable paintings and drawings are presented in this book and the illustrations are accompanied by the Alice text that contains all the revisions made by Lewis Carroll shortly before his death. 




David Hall died in 1964 at the age of 58, but now, at last, his impressive visual interpretation of Alice takes its rightful place in the first division of illustrators of one of the world’s most famous stories. 

Published by Methuen Children’s Books in 1986.
ISBN number 0 416 96000 6 

Saturday 24 September 2011

The Versatile Blogger Award

I've just received the Versatile Blogger Award from the lovely Claudine at Carry Us Off Books. Thank you Claudine I really appreciate it.  

By accepting the award I agree to;
1. Thank and link to the person who nominated me.
2. Share seven random facts about myself.
3. Pass the award on to five blogger friends.
4. Contact and Congratulate the nominated blogs.



So without further ado here are seven random facts about me;

I have always loved old-fashioned buttons and spent hours looking through my gran's button tin. She had all kinds of buttons including ones made from shell, metal, glass, marcasite, and pottery. There were also military buttons and badges, buckles, marbles, odd bits of change and cotton reels.

I wrote my first love letter on purple 'Basildon Bond' notepaper when I was seven - I sprinkled it with 'Evening in Paris' perfume stolen from my mum's dressing table. The boy of my dreams (also aged seven) was not impressed!

My husband is six weeks younger than me and refers to himself as my 'toy boy'.

Earlier this year I was awarded a runner-up prize in a National Geographic photography competition.  Some of my happiest memories are from when my dad and I visited second-hand bookshops looking for back issues of National Geographic, so it made this prize extra special.

I collect nursery china, especially anything decorated by Eileen Soper or Chloe Preston. One of my favourite pieces is a Paragon nursery mug with ‘a gift from The Queen, Christmas 1938’ stamped on the base. It was probably given to a member of the palace staff or an estate worker and is still in perfect condition and complete with its box.

I tried sandboarding in Dubai and drove a 4x4 through the sand dunes. I was black and blue after the sandboarding – sand is hard and scratchy!

I can’t sing, dance or play a musical instrument but I can arrange a nice bunch of flowers and ice a birthday cake (not at the same time)!

Now to pass the award along to five blogger friends;

Olga from http://bibliophilescorner.blogspot.com/ Olga reviews a variety of books in an informative and interesting way.
Donna from http://dmyates.blogspot.com/ Donna always has something inspirational to share.
Sophie from http://www.lifebetweenpages.net/Sophie describes herself as 'Just a random girl from the UK' – I like that!
Kathy from http://bookskidslike.blogspot.com/ Dedicated to sharing great children's fiction - old and new - with kids and their parents.
Janice from http://readaloudsforallchildren.wordpress.com/ Blogs about children's literature that fosters peace, justice, respect and curiosity.

I hope you all enjoy receiving this award as much as I did.

Friday 23 September 2011

Fairy Tales and Fairy Cakes

This week we visited the Flower Fairies and Dark Tales exhibition taking place at Mottisfont in Hampshire. The exhibition features over fifty original artworks depicting tales of mischief and enchantment, from the kindly flower fairies to malevolent spirits. I can’t show you any of the original Cicely Mary Barker artwork because cameras are banned. I can, however, tell you it is well worth a visit.

The exhibition offers glimpses of both the expected and the unexpected, innocence and light is depicted in the thirty original watercolours from Cicely Mary Barker’s world-famous Flower Fairies collection and on a separate floor, two rooms are set aside for the darker side of fairies.

One of the highlights is the specially commissioned work by Tessa Farmer entitled The Skullship and the Galls. This work is housed within ‘the secret cupboard’ and consists of material gathered at Mottisfont.  


Several ‘Fairy Gatherings’ were held during the summer holidays with enchanted face painting, magical storytelling and fairy cakes for those who dressed up as fairies.

There are many layers of history to explore at Mottisfont, including the Gothic remains of the original 13th-century Augustinian priory.



In the mid-20th century the final private owner, society hostess and patron of the arts Maud Russell, turned the abbey into a weekend retreat for her artistic friends, and Mottisfont became a place of relaxation and creativity.


Today you can stroll by the fast-flowing river test, enjoy beautiful gardens, and explore the unusual house and art gallery.



Mottisfont's walled garden is famous for its old-fashioned shrub roses interplanted with herbaceous perennials. Until 1914, however, it was used for the purpose for which it was built - the production of fruit, vegetables and flowers for the house. The area known today as the Rose Garden, with its central pond and quartered layout, was the old kitchen garden, the walls covered in fruit-laden trees with more planted in the open ground and in the northern section.



The Flower Fairies and Dark Tales exhibition runs until the 2nd of October, 2011. Further information and opening times can be found at The National Trust Website.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Monica Edwards The Spirit of Punchbowl Farm


The splendid yew tree has protected Punchbowl Farmhouse from gales and storms for many hundreds of years, and Lindsey Thornton loves it. She is positive the ancient tree holds the spirit that guards their home; to destroy it would be very wrong and some dreadful disaster might come upon them. But her brother Dion, who has shouldered the many problems of restoring and running the derelict farm, knows only that the yew’s poisonous branches are a constant threat to his small but growing herd of cows and even to the family’s beloved ponies.

Spirit of Punchbowl Farm Pg. 1
By Monica Edwards

Spirit of Punchbowl farm is now sold thank you for your interest.


Monday 19 September 2011

Book of the week - Walt Disney's Sketch Book Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1st edition, 1938


Another book with truly beautiful illustrations and one of the nicest (in my opinion) Disney books ever produced.  This is a rare first edition complete with original dust jacket.

Large format 12 x 9.5" with approximately 80 pages and 12 beautiful tipped-in tissue guarded colour plates mounted on thick brown card.


The plates show each of the characters in finished form (Sleepy, Dopey, Sneezy, Doc, Snow White, the Queen and so on) then there are numerous pages of black and white sketches showing the development of the various characters with notes about costumes and sets. Walt Disney's sketch book contains studies untouched by the various technical processes of cartoon film making.
Begun in 1934 when Walt Disney, inspired by the Grimm's fairy story, began the preliminary sketches on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which formed the basis of his first full length cartoon film. Amazingly this book was never published in America.




I'm featuring this book to share some of the illustrations with you but maybe you would rather see something different. I value any comments you might like to make.

Walt Disney's sketch book Snow White is now sold, thank you for your interest.

Friday 16 September 2011

Added Value: Things found in books part eleven


Lovely old bookmark produced for Northern Insurance of London & Aberdeen.

Text from back of bookmark reads; persons about to insure should choose the Northern, Fire, Life, Accident, Burglary. Accumulated Funds (1906) £6782.00 Annual income over £1,700,000 Moorgate St, London, E.C.


Found In;  Sketches of English Life and Character by Mary Russell Mitford with illustrations by Stanhope A Forbes A.R.A. 


Sketches of English life is now sold, thank you for your interest.

How about you - what do you use as a bookmark? Have you ever found a forgotten bookmark?

Thursday 15 September 2011

I just want to say a massive thank you to Sophie at Life between pages for her feature on March House Books. This week is Book Blogger Appreciation Week and I certainly appreciate being part of Sophie's blog.

If you would like to read more head on over to Life Between Pages

The Patchwork Cat


The lid is tightly on; the bin is in the air and upside-down. Tabby falls out, wrapped in her patchwork quilt. She is in the rubbish truck. She sits and cries with no one there to hear. The engines and the shaking and the dangers and the quaking catch her calls.

The Patchwork Cat Pg. 10
By Nicola Bayley & William Mayne

The patchwork cat is now sold, thank you for your interest.

Wednesday 14 September 2011

And the winner is……


Vintage die-cut shape book 

We are delighted to announce the winner of our ‘guess the name of the sailor’ giveaway is Julie (Falk_dog) Congratulations!

Two people correctly identified ‘George Michael’ so the winner was the first name drawn out of the hat. Commiserations to Bea, better luck next time.

There were some wonderfully inventive suggestions – our three favourites being Cracker Jack, Stevie Wonder and Billie Ocean.

Thanks to all who took the time to enter. 

Monday 12 September 2011

Book of the week; Pads Paws & Claws


Written by W. P. Pycraft with illustrations by Edwin Noble, Published by Wells Gardner Darton, 1911. The illustrations comprise 32 beautiful tipped-in colour plates plus black and white chapter headings and tail-pieces.  Sixteen chapters each concerning a different animal or animals including the Dormouse, Camel, Gnu, Kangaroo, Bears, the Tiger, Zebras and so on. For me the biggest joy is the beautiful illustrations but as I know very little about Edwin Noble I decided to try a little online research.












There doesn’t seem to be very much information – I found one reference that simply said -

Member of the Royal Academy, Mr. Noble primarily worked as an animal artist and children's illustrator.

The London Transport Museum were more helpful -

Edwin Noble (also known by the name John Edwin Noble), born 1876, died 1941. Designed posters for the Underground Group 1916.
Educated; Lambeth School of Art; the Slade School of Fine Art; Royal Academy School;
Biography:
No biographical details

So if you have more information or know of anywhere I could look I would be delighted to hear from you.


I hope you enjoy the illustrations as much as I do. 


Friday 9 September 2011

Added Value: Things found in books part ten


A cutting advertising ‘Birds in Britain’ a magazine programme edited and introduced by James Fisher and produced by Desmond Hawkins.  I think this was cut from an edition of The Radio Times because on the back is a listing for Listen with Mother followed by one for Mrs Dale’s Diary. (Mrs. Dale, the doctor’s wife, records the daily happenings in the life of her family. Bob and Jenny had tea with Gwen and David, and Billy stood for the first time. Bob took David for a ride on his motor bicycle and they both fell off. Later in the week Bob met Linda Grant in the canteen at the airport. Isabel wanted Mrs. Freeman to be wardrobe mistress for the Operatic Society’s Christmas production, but Mrs. Dale thought it would be too much for her. Mr Fulton made ... that’s where it ends!)   

Mrs Dale’s Diary was a BBC radio serial drama, first broadcast on the Home Service on 5th January 1948. It was broadcast twice daily on weekdays. The lead character, Mrs Dale, was played by Ellis Powell until she was replaced by Jessie Matthews in 1963. The series ran for 5,531 episodes, culminating with the engagement of Mrs Dale’s daughter Gwen to a famous TV professor on 25th April, 1969.



Found inside a lovely dust jacketed copy of The Taming of Genghis by Ronald Stevens with illustrations by C. F. Tunnicliffe. 


Any Mrs Dale’s Diary fans out there know what year this was?


The taming of Genghis is now sold, thank you for your interest. We left the cutting inside the book as we thought the new owner might enjoy it.

Wednesday 7 September 2011




A very big thank you to Isabella at Book Garden Reviews for her feature on March House Books.

Moonshine Tales


On the shelf of the village shop, hidden away among mousetraps and packets of rat-poison, lay a small wooden box, covered with a trellis patterned paper, like the wallpaper in a doll's house. A hook and eye kept the box tightly shut, and what ever was inside hadn't seen daylight for many months, for a thick layer of dust lay over it like a blanket. Tony spied it on its high shelf, and asked Mrs. Mothersill to reach it down for him to see. She fetched a step-ladder, with complains of her rheumatism, and grumbled at the nuisance of little boys who wanted things out of reach instead of being content with those on the counter. She lifted down the box, blew away the dust, wiped the lid on her apron, and undid the catch...

Some moonshine tales Pg. 68
By Alison Uttley

Update July 2016: All the books featured on this blog are now sold. March House books closed on my retirement in 2015, but I am still happily blogging here at March of Time Books. Your visits are always appreciated.

Sunday 4 September 2011

A trip to the Dorset County Show


We had a fabulous day at the Dorset county show – black clouds and the threat of rain had us 'umming and arring' about going but we are very glad we did.


The Dorset County show is one of the bigger agricultural shows with something for everyone. From livestock and farming to crafts and gardening plus a whole host of trade and charity stalls along the countless walkways.










The displays and attractions were almost too numerous to name but some of the best were the Bolddog Lings motor bike display team, Titan the Robot, rabbits, horses, goats, vintage cars and tractors, dog agility, Pony Club Games, Adams Axemen, the excitement of the scurry racing, ferret racing, terrier racing, and the fascinating Wolf Man Shaun Ellis.


My favourite display was the superb 'falconry on horseback' performed by Jonathan Marshall. The combination of unique falconry skills and superb showmanship held me spellbound. The stars of the show included Hawks, Falcons and Eagles which displayed incredible agility and speed. I can honestly say I could have watched nothing else all day and gone home content!
I would love to participate in a ‘horseback falconry day’ but don't think I have the courage. This is the preamble from  Jonathan Marshall's website  - After an introduction to the Harris Hawks and Arabian horses you will be shown how to handle and fly the hawks before being shown how to ride the horse using one hand. This is followed by a ride through beautiful woodland and open fields flying the hawks to the glove. After lunch fly Peregrine falcons and a pure White Gyr Falcon on the high hills near Exmoor. Learn to swing a lure for the fastest creatures on earth.  How wonderful does that sound?

Number two on my list of favourite things was the fantastic dog and duck sheepdog demo with eight ducks (or possibly nine) being herded around the ring by three wonderful dogs. The funniest part of the whole day was when Lulu the sheepdog  'encouraged’ the ducks up a slide and down into a paddling pool, most of the ducks managed to miss the pool but Lulu was more than happy to jump in not once but twice! The crowds loved it.
The "push-me--pull-you"?



The horticulture and homecraft Marquees housed stunning displays of fruit, flowers, and vegetables, together with competition entries including everything from jams, wines, cakes, edible necklaces, garden sculptures, miniature gardens, art, photography, flower arranging and even scarecrows!


Loads of food stalls offered everything from cheeses, meats, cakes, sweets, breads, vegetables and pasties. We went home with a huge and delicious garlic bread and a pork and Silent Slasher (Dorset Piddle Silent Slasher Ale!) pie.  What a great way to end a wonderful day!

More 'photos from the show here

Friday 2 September 2011

Added Value: Things found in books part nine

This week a 'proper' bookmark Produced for the RNL1 in 1993. The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Providing a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service around the coasts of the UK as well as seasonal lifeguard service on many of the busiest beaches in England and Wales.

Pretty bookmark showing coastal flora found inside this copy of Serbian Fairy Tales by Madame Elodie L Ijatovich with illustrations by Sidney Stanley. Published by William Heinemann  in 1917.
















Do you use a 'proper' bookmark or something that just happens to be at hand?
Serbian Fairy Tales is now sold, thank you for your interest.